The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Material-removal systems can use a fluid-blasting, spray-head assembly (hereinafter referred to as “spray-head assembly”) to remove material from a surface. The spray-head assembly can direct a stream of high-pressure fluid onto a surface to remove material therefrom. The spray-head assembly can be coupled to a vehicle and moved along a road surface to remove coatings, such as striping, from the road surface.
The spray-head assembly typically includes individual fluid bars that each rotate about an associated pivot. Each fluid bar is spaced apart and disposed within separate shrouds or housings and rotates therein. The shroud is open on one side to allow the pressurized fluid from the fluid bar to be directed toward the working surface. Each rotating fluid bar has an effective area or sweep over which the pressurized fluid is directed. The rotation of the fluid bar results in a circular sweep with a diameter that is related to the length of the fluid bar and the distance from the surface. To increase the effective area of the spray-head assembly, the multiple fluid bars are arranged so that the sweep of the individual rotating fluid bars overlaps one another. The use of individual or separate shrouds for each fluid bar, however, can result in a large spray-head assembly. The larger the spray-head assembly is, the more difficult it can be to control the spray-head assembly and/or maneuver the spray-head assembly into confined spaces or restricted areas. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a spray-head assembly that allows for overlapping sweeps of the spray patterns while reducing the overall size of the spray-head assembly.
The spray-head assembly is typically used as part of a material-removal system which can include a mobile platform, such as a vehicle or truck, which can move the spray-head assembly along a surface having a material thereon that is to be removed. The material-removal system typically includes a fluid-supply system operable to supply high-pressure fluid to the fluid bars in the spray-head assembly. The fluid-supply system typically includes a fluid-storage tank disposed on the vehicle. In some applications, the debris and sprayed fluid need to be cleaned up from the surface. In these applications, the material-removal system can include a debris tank that communicates with a vacuum system. The vacuum system is connected to the spray-head assembly to suck up the debris removed from the surface along with the fluid and directs the flow to the debris tank for collection therein.
The debris tank and fluid tank are formed as a single combined unit separated by a wall. The debris and sprayed fluid are collected in the debris tank and are periodically removed therefrom. During the removal process, the combined debris and fluid tank are tilted upwardly to allow the sludge to be removed via gravity. The physical combination of the fluid and debris tanks, however, requires that the lifting and tilting apparatus be sized to lift and tilt both the fluid tank and the debris tank. Thus, the physical combination of the fluid and debris tanks requires that the lifting and tilting device be larger than that required to lift and tilt only the debris tank. Additionally, the capacity of the fluid tank may be limited due to the available lifting and tilting devices that can be attached to the mobile platform. Thus, it would be advantageous to separate the debris tank from the fluid tank. Additionally, it would be advantageous if the debris tank could be lifted and tilted separate from the fluid tank such that the lifting and tilting device need only be sized to accommodate the expected load associated with the debris tank.
During operation, the debris tank can be under vacuum. The vacuum imparted on the debris tank can inhibit the removal of liquid from the debris tank during the operation of the vacuum system. In some applications or areas, it may be permissible to discharge filtered fluid directly to the environment. The ability to discharge the filtered fluid directly to the environment can reduce the operating weight of the mobile platform during operation and/or decrease the debris-removal time. The reduced weight may result in more efficient operation of the material-removal system and result in decreased operating costs. The ability to reduce the debris-removal time allows the material-removal system to spend more time removing material and increases its up time. The material-removal system may run out of fluid before the debris tank is full of debris. The ability to remove the fluid while under vacuum can allow the fluid to be removed while traveling to a fluid-fill station thus requiring only a filling operation at the station and not a fluid-dumping operation when the debris tank is not full of debris. This ability can advantageously increase the available operating time of such a material-removal system and thereby increase the revenue generated by same. Thus, it would be advantageous to be able to remove the liquid from the debris tank while the material-removal system is operating and the debris tank is under vacuum.